Repression is an ______ effort by the ego to push out threatening material from awareness.

Repression is an ______ effort by the ego to push out threatening material from awareness.

• A. Active
• B. Passive
• C. Unconscious
• D. Deliberate

Answer: (A)

Repression is a defense mechanism in which the ego pushes threatening material out of awareness in a way that isn’t conscious or deliberate. It acts automatically to shield the person from anxiety, so the individual isn’t actively choosing to suppress thoughts or memories. That’s why the best fit for the blank is unconscious. Calling it active or deliberate would imply conscious control, which contradicts how repression operates. A note on the others: passive doesn’t capture the active protection the ego undertakes, and those terms don’t convey the lack of awareness that defines repression.

Repression is a defense mechanism in which the ego pushes threatening material out of awareness in a way that isn’t conscious or deliberate. It acts automatically to shield the person from anxiety, so the individual isn’t actively choosing to suppress thoughts or memories. That’s why the best fit for the blank is unconscious. Calling it active or deliberate would imply conscious control, which contradicts how repression operates. A note on the others: passive doesn’t capture the active protection the ego undertakes, and those terms don’t convey the lack of awareness that defines repression.